The Dating Game
Thursday April 14, 1966
TV Flash files “Thursday April 14, 1966” as a desk essential hour — The Dating Game (1965–1986) on ABC, season 1, episode 84, aired 1966-04-14, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E84: listed hour 84 of 251 in the The Dating Game guide, hour 84 of 185 in season 1. It aired 1966-04-14 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “Wednesday April 13, 1966” (S01E83). Next is “Friday April 15, 1966” (S01E85).
Essential hour: “Thursday April 14, 1966”. Thursday, April 14, 1966 — mid-first-season daily craft, innuendo still just inside Standards & Practices.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Thursday April 14, 1966 sit in the The Dating Game guide?
S01E84 is listed hour 84 of 251 — hour 84 of 185 in season 1, season 1 episode 84.
When did The Dating Game S01E84 air?
Thursday April 14, 1966 aired 1966-04-14 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start?
A Lange-hosted hour with the blind-quiz setup is the whole machine: unseen suitors, cheeky questions, a date as prize. Format, not serial.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Dating Game made romance a blind quiz: one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris's cheeky production, and Jim Lange keeping the innuendo just inside Standards. It is the ancestor of every later dating competition, only shorter and more studio-bound. Network daytime taught America to flirt on camera without calling it reality TV yet.
Monday, December 20, 1965: one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris's cheeky production, Jim Lange keeping the innuendo just inside Standards & Practices. The Dating Game made romance a blind quiz on ABC and taught America to flirt on camera without calling it reality television yet. A contestant questions hidden suitors and picks a date based on banter alone. Soft-core sixties flirtation for daytime and prime access. **Matchmaking became a format here.**
Filed against
- Jim Lange as Host
Jim Lange hosted The Dating Game as a blind quiz with innuendo just inside Standards — one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris cheek, 1960s studio romance as the ancestor of every later dating competition. TV…